I want to argue there is no such thing as Christian leadership. And that’s coming from someone who has just taken a job to run a new MA in Contemporary Christian Leadership at Oak Hill College!

You see, if we think there is a way of leading in the church that is different from how to “get things done” in the world, we forget that all leadership is the exercising of delegated authority, and all authority comes from God himself. 

Leadership goes well when authority is exercised in line with God’s character and purposes and goes badly when it isn’t! In that sense, there is no such thing as “Christian” leadership, there is just good or bad leadership.

But what about leadership in Christian communities?

There is, however, “Christian” leadership that is exercised in Christian communities and is concerned with the health and functioning of the church. 

The church’s vocation – in which every member plays their God-given part - is to demonstrate to the world the presence and character of the living God. The core purpose of leaders is to equip every member to find their place and make their contribution, so the whole body builds itself up in love (Eph 4:16) and fulfils its calling to bless the nations.

Though leadership can involve lots of diverse activities, if it is not focused on helping every member contribute to the functioning body of Christ, then we’ve missed the point and it is not “Christian” leadership!

If that’s the purpose and goal of Christian leadership, how is it to be exercised in the church? This is an urgent question, not least in view of the recent proliferation of leadership scandals.

Doing Jesus' work in Jesus' ways

Christian leadership imitates – and demonstrates - the character and mindset of Jesus in the way he exercised power. 

Paul sets out the pattern in Philippians 2:5-11. 

Jesus understood his equality with God (i.e. immeasurable power and authority) to be the means of pouring himself out in humble service all the way to death for our sake on the cross. 

He refused to use his authority either to get anything for himself or to defend himself against loss, as though he lacked anything or could be diminished. 

Paul’s application of Isaiah 45 to Jesus’ mindset (“for this reason God exalted him and gave him the name…” Phil 2:9) affirms that Jesus’ humility and self-giving service, far from being a departure from God’s normal way of doing things, is in fact the supreme demonstration of God’s character! 

In Jesus we see the fleshly transcription of the God who is eternally full and needs nothing from his creatures! And Paul tells us our attitude towards whatever authority, power or privilege we may have been given, is to be exactly the same; it is given to us for the blessing and benefit of others.

This means that Christian leadership must be characterised by servant-hearted use of all we are and have for the building up and flourishing of God’s people. It also means bad character will always compromise leadership. To put it another way, leaders in the body of Christ must never be tempted to try to do Jesus’ work in non-Jesus ways! And when leaders, in the name of Jesus, lead in non-Jesus ways, they misrepresent Christ’s character and take his name in vain.

Why does leadership go wrong?

There are lots of answers to this question but three come immediately to mind. 

First, our tendency is to prioritise gifts over character, tolerating un-Christ-like character and behaviour just as long as the tasks are getting done and ministry is “successful”. 

This leads to the second reason; we have defined success in all the wrong ways. In fact, we have often defined success in the church in ways that can be accomplished entirely without Jesus. 

Thirdly, we have an enemy. In view of what is at stake in the functioning, maturing body of Christ blessing the nations, it should be no surprise that it attracts enemy attention. In fact, if you doubt the existence of a devil, just get involved in a church!

How does a masters degree help with this?

With a desire to serve the body of Christ, Oak Hill College is developing a new Masters in Contemporary Christian Leadership with the first student intake in September 2025. 

The new Masters provides a unique opportunity for participants to be part of a cohort of peers over 3 years part-time. Mutual support of peers and a rich learning environment represent the best possible investment developing Christian leaders can make. It is an investment in long-term safe, faithful and fruitful leadership that will bless God’s people and bless the nations.

For more information about this programme and to book in a call with Mark Stirling visit oakhill.ac.uk/maccl